A fuel injector for a gas turbine engine of an aircraft has an inlet fitting, a fuel nozzle, and a housing stem with an internal conduit fluidly interconnecting the nozzle and fitting. The fuel nozzle includes a fuel swirler, which includes a plenum for receiving fuel from the conduit. A plurality of fuel passages direct fuel from the plenum to discharge orifices. The downstream ends of the passages are angled such that a swirl component is imparted to fuel exiting the discharge orifices. The swirling fuel is then applied to a prefilmer, which outwardly surrounds the fuel swirler. The passages in the fuel swirler are arranged such that the discharge orifices surround the entire nozzle for the even distribution of fuel. The plenum and passages are dimensioned and configured to receive and distribute the fuel for uniform spray patternization and low pressure drop, which provides improved combustion and flame stability.